Hoopvillehttp://www.hoopville.com
Your Home For College HoopsFri, 09 Dec 2016 12:49:26 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7Your Home For College HoopsHoopvilleYour Home For College HoopsHoopvillehttp://www.hoopville.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpghttp://www.hoopville.com
21555349The Morning Dish – Friday, December 9, 2016http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/09/the-morning-dish-friday-december-9-2016/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/09/the-morning-dish-friday-december-9-2016/#respondFri, 09 Dec 2016 12:40:17 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035387Middle Tennessee State carved out a place in college basketball history in March when it posted one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history by knocking out Michigan State. This year’s Blue Raiders are not the same team as last year’s group, though.

They very well might be better.

For those wondering what MTSU has been up to since last season ended with a loss to Syracuse in the second round of the NCAAs, it’s time to take notice. Middle Tennessee is now 9-1 on this season after taking advantage of the chance to host an SEC school and posting a convincing 71-48 win over Vanderbilt. Giddy Potts scored 27 points and Reggie Upshaw and JaCorey Williams also were terrific, with the trio combining for 54 points to outscore the Commodores themselves.

There was nothing deceiving about the final margin either. Middle Tennessee treated Vandy the way a Big Ten squad treats a tired SWAC team in a guarantee game, steadily pulling away late in the first half and then stepping on the gas in the second half, running and dunking and frustrating the Commodores and blowing this wide open. If anything, the margin could’ve been even worse, with MTSU up 26 and still building the lead when coach Kermit Davis cleared the bench with two minutes left while Vandy coach Bryce Drew kept the starters in to apparently send a message to his team.

This is the Blue Raiders’ second resounding win over an SEC team this year, for MTSU also won at Mississippi by 77-62 just over a week ago, building a 29-point halftime lead. Middle also is the only team to defeat UNC Wilmington so far and has a collection of other decent wins, with its one loss coming to Tennessee State. The next two games are on the road at VCU and Belmont. Win both, and almost certainly this will be a team deserving of a spot in the top 25 rankings.

Kermit Davis’s teams are always enjoyable to watch, unselfish and in motion on offense and constantly mixing up the defense, including his signature 1-3-1 zone. His program also boasts a very strong graduation rate, another thing that makes MTSU easy to like.

Middle Tennessee State has made some noise in recent years with an at-large bid in 2013 (then out of the Sun Belt) along with the tourney win last year, and this year’s team may well be poised for more of the same. Getting to the NCAAs again out of improving Conference USA won’t be easy; at the same time it’s a league that’s long past due to have an at-large team come out of a group that also includes teams like UAB and Old Dominion. The Blue Raiders may well be good enough to do just that.

Side Dishes:

The always heated battle for bragging rights between Iowa and Iowa State went to the Hawkeyes for the first time in four years, by a 78-64 score in Iowa City. ISU has been the considerably better defensive team this year, but it was young Iowa-just 4-5 entering the game-playing with terrific energy at home and holding down the Cyclones while also shooting 47.3% in a solid win. Iowa lost to Nebraska-Omaha five days ago; Iowa State defeated Omaha two days later by 44 points. With the Hawkeyes, that’s youth personified.

The most intriguing game coming into the night was maybe even more than expected. Texas-Arlington went to 12th-ranked Saint Mary’s and not just came out with a win, but controlled the game in a 65-51 conquest of the Gaels. UTA shut down SMC’s offense, holding the hosts to 30.2% shooting and forcing 15 turnovers. The Mavericks got off to a slow start but are undeniably warming up, with wins at Texas and Saint Mary’s now this year to go with those oft-mentioned victories at Ohio State and Memphis last year.

St. John’s ran away from Fordham in the second half for a 90-62 win. Shamorie Ponds threatened a triple-double, finishing with 26 points, seven boards and nine assists.

On a very quiet night, perhaps the best game is Georgia Southern at Minnesota (9 p.m. Eastern, Big Ten Network). The Eagles are a solid, experienced team from the Sun Belt that nearly won at N.C. State and Florida Gulf Coast. The Golden Gophers should handle GSU at home, but must be at attention or this has trap written all over it.

Butler became the first team to drop, when Indiana State’s Brenton Scott hit a free throw with less than a second left to give the Sycamores a 72-71 victory. The Bulldogs lost for the first time in nine games, while ISU continues to work on evening the score after three close losses in the AdvoCare Invitational-and did so in this one on Larry Bird’s 60th birthday, too!

TCU soon lost too, trimming the list of teams without a loss to nine, as SMU topped the Horned Frogs 74-59 in a game closer than the final score. Former president George W. Bush and wife Laura were on hand, as was former British prime minister David Cameron, and it’s time that this rivalry of Dallas vs. Fort Worth picks up steam and becomes a big deal every year, the way it ought to be.

A common thread? Both Butler and TCU were not just playing on the road, but were playing their first true road games of the season.

This isn’t to say that Butler and TCU aren’t capable of winning on the road-they are, and they will, especially the Bulldogs, who have the look of a solid seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s just a reminder of how important location of games is in this sport, and just why the selection committee gets it so blatantly, utterly wrong when it ignores road results as much as it has the past couple years. (See: Monmouth 2016)

There is a huge difference between winning at home or even at a neutral site, and winning on the road. The selections in March are rejecting one of the most basic facts of this sport when they don’t recognize that. On top of that, they could do a service to the entire sport by rewarding road wins appropriately, encouraging teams to play more road games in November and December to provide some more spice to the sport at this time of the season.

It should be noted: a third unbeaten team played on the road on Wednesday but did remain undefeated, as Creighton dumped Nebraska 77-62. Make that 15 wins in the last 18 meetings in this series for the Bluejays, who improved to 9-0, including-yes-1-0 in true road games.

Side Dishes:

Colorado picked up a win that could go a long way in March, defeating Xavier 68-66. The Buffaloes went on a 15-0 run in the second half to turn this one around.

After its loss to UCLA, Kentucky came out motivated as expected, jumping on Valparaiso early and cruising to an 87-63 win. North Carolina had more trouble with Davidson but won 83-74 as Justin Jackson hit seven three-pointers on his way to 27 points.

Seton Hall won the unofficial Pearl Harbor Invitational title, edging California 60-57. The Pirates finished as the sole 2-0 team in this terrific event, which needs to just go all the way and change to a tournament format next year.

Gonzaga throttled Washington 98-71 in a game that was never in doubt. Nigel Williams-Goss burnt his former team for 23 points, five rebounds and five assists.

UAB won at Stephen F. Austin 84-73, snapping the Lumberjacks’ 31-game home winning streak. The Blazers-who also put a halt to Old Dominion’s 32-game streak at home last year-shot a school-record 72.1%, making 31 of 43 from the field.

Staying on the subject of road winners: George Mason was mighty impressive, blowing out Penn State in the second half for an 85-66 win that serves notice that the Patriots are going to be dangerous in the Atlantic 10 this year. After a shaky 1-3 start that included losses to Towson and Mount St. Mary’s plus a 37-point beating to Houston, GMU has won six in a row.

Harvard won at Boston College 74-66 as Tommy Amaker became the winningest coach in school history with his 179th victory. Georgia Tech also scored a nice road conquest, winning 76-73 in overtime at VCU, which suddenly has two straight disappointing results after also getting drilled by Illinois. VCU is one tough place to play, though, and Tech should be proud of this one.

Rivalry games: North Dakota won at North Dakota State 74-56 with Geno Crandall scoring 24 points. Washington State also defeated Idaho for the first time in three years, posting a 61-48 win at home.

Grand Canyon knocked off San Diego State for the second year in a row, this time a 76-72 win in Arizona. The Mountain West early on is doing its best to again be a one-bid conference this year.

George Washington played a stinker on Sunday against Florida State but delivered big time last night, winning at Temple 66-63 in a battle of former Atlantic 10 rivals. Tyler Cavanaugh drained the winning three-pointer with eight seconds left in the game.

Finally, on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor it was Army defeating Air Force 79-71, a prelude to the great Army/Navy football game coming up this weekend.

A light slate has two top contenders for the best game. The in-state rivalry game between Iowa State and Iowa (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2) is always a treat, hotly contested, and for atmosphere no game will duplicate this one. Perhaps the best pairing of two teams, though, could be in Moraga, Calif., where improving Texas-Arlington is at No. 12 Saint Mary’s, one of those games that richly deserves a national television slot but won’t have one.

Those watching across the nation can watch Nicholls State play at Florida State, though (9 p.m., ESPNU). At least the Colonels won at Boston College earlier this year; otherwise, this one would fall in the category of inexcusable TV scheduling.

Vanderbilt is at Middle Tennessee State (7:30 p.m., CBSSN), and it’s not unreasonable to say this is a game MTSU not just can win, but should.

Fordham is at St. John’s for some New York City hoops (6:30 p.m., FS1).

Pacific takes a trip across country to go up against Massachusetts. At first this seems like a surprising one-off game out east for the Tigers, but a closer look reveals it is part of the Gotham Classic, another of those exempted events too often polluting the sport’s landscape. This event doesn’t even pretend to be a tournament, featuring only a round-robin among Pacific, UMass, Kennesaw State, North Carolina A&T and Rider. This is what the future of the historic tourneys like the Great Alaska Shootout is being threatened for. Sigh. This loophole in preseason events needs to be closed ASAP.

Have a terrific Thursday.

]]>http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/08/the-morning-dish-thursday-december-8-2016/feed/01000035380Brown’s triple-double highlights impressive start at Miamihttp://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/07/browns-triple-double-highlights-impressive-start-at-miami/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/07/browns-triple-double-highlights-impressive-start-at-miami/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 21:51:56 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035366Though certainly a significant catch in a sterling recruiting class, Bruce Brown did not come to Miami as the Hurricanes’s most-heralded recruit. That recognition went to forward Dewan Huell, only the fourth McDonald’s All-American in program history.

But the 6-5 guard with the effervescent and always present smile, who spent the last two seasons at Vermont Academy in Saxton’s River after starring in football and basketball for two years at Wakefield (Massachusetts) High, is wasting little time in making his presence felt.

After getting his first collegiate start in the Hurricanes’ third game of the season early in November, Brown earned honors as ACC Freshman of the Week for his play (23 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) in Miami’s wins over Penn and Wofford last week, then topped that by putting his name in the school record book with just the program’s second triple-double ever in Tuesday night’s 82-46 rout of South Carolina State.

Brown scored 11 points, snatched 11 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists in 30 minutes for what he later said was his first triple-double ever at any level. It was a first for his coach, too. Jim Larranaga said he couldn’t recall any player he has had in his 33-year coaching career who had achieved the feat.

“The thing that’s most impressive to me is he had nine rebounds at the half,” Larranaga said. “He’s a terrific rebounder, and he’s a guard and he’s handling the ball like a point guard now so he’s getting an opportunity to create some shots for other people.”

Brown is No. 2 on the team in assists to junior point guard Ja’Quan Newton with 26 assists to Newton’s 35, is the No. 3 scorer with a 10.0 average, and the No. 2 rebounder with a 6.8 average to senior forward Kamari Murphy’s 8.2.

Brown was told at halftime of the S.C. State game that he was four assists away from getting to double digits, and after he got his seventh he starting thinking seriously of the possibility of actually getting a triple-double during a media timeout in the second half.

“I went to Coach L and I said, ‘Please don’t take me out until I get three more assists and then one more point,” he said.

He got his 10th rebound at the 12:18 mark of the second half after spending a couple of minutes on the bench. He reached double digits in scoring with a dunk at the 10:55 mark giving him his 11 points, and the final assist came on a pass to another freshman, guard DJ Vasiljevic, for a 3-pointer with 2:59 remaining in the game.

“It was a very emotional day for me today,” Brown said. “My uncle actually passed away this morning. So the game today was for him. I played every possession like it was my last.”

Edward Dillard, an uncle on his mother’s side, passed after a some time in a coma.

“He was watching,” Brown said. “He was watching.”

It was appropriate the final points on his final assist should come on a 3-pointer from Vasiljevic, also a freshman guard who Larranaga calls Brown’s sidekick.

“He finds him pretty regularly,” the coach said.

But it wasn’t that assist that caught Larranaga’s attention.

“I thought the best pass that he threw was when he penetrated and got up in the air and dumped it off left-handed to Ebuku Izundu for a dunk,” Larranaga said. “That was really, really nice. I think he actually did a little look-away, which in that particular case worked very efficiently.

“Normally, when a guy looks away, he actually fakes the guy he’s passing to out because he doesn’t think he is passing to him. And the pass is not as accurate. But he did a terrific job with that.”

Vasiljevic, on the other hand, was expecting a pass from his running mate.

Said Brown: “We talked before and I said if I give it to you, shoot it, and he said, ‘I’m going to shoot it.’ And as soon as he made it, I was so happy.”

The basket gave Vasiljevic a game and career high 17 points in 25 minutes off the bench.

“I’ll do anything for Bruce, as I’ve said in past interviews,” the Aussie said. “When I hit that shot, I knew it was emotional for him, but also for me, with his uncle passing away. The shot meant something to me also, not just to him but also to myself and the team. I’m proud he got the triple double.”

Brown’s name now goes into the Miami record book alongside that of former center Anthony King, who recorded the program’s first triple-double over 12 years ago. They’re tough to come. Kentucky, the winningest program in college basketball history, got just its second late last month when De’Aaron Fox had 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists for the Wildcats in a win over Arizona State.

“For guards they don’t normally rebound as well, and for big guys, they normally don’t get as many assists,” Larranaga said. “So it’s rare you have a player, Russell Westbrook for example, who has the ball in his hands, he’s going to score, but he finds people, but he’s also a terror on the backboards. He’s had six consecutive double-doubles. If Bruce does that, then you’ll really be saying something.”

King’s triple-double for Miami featured a school-record 13 blocked shots to go with 11 points, 10 rebounds, in an 84-68 win over Florida Atlantic on Nov. 29, 2004.

A reporter asked Brown what was left for an encore after following up the ACC honors he had received with the triple-double.

“I have no idea,” he said, still smiling. “I’m just going to go out there and play every play like it’s my last.”

]]>http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/07/browns-triple-double-highlights-impressive-start-at-miami/feed/01000035366The Morning Dish – Wednesday, December 7, 2016http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/07/the-morning-dish-wednesday-december-7-2016/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/07/the-morning-dish-wednesday-december-7-2016/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 15:40:07 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035369Three distinct events, all exceptional and special in their own way, led the college basketball schedule Tuesday. They were unique, poignant, just fun, or all of the above, and it’s impossible to feature one but not the others.

On Dec. 7, though, any discussion has to start with Pearl Harbor, especially in this year marking the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Pearl Harbor Invitational is one of the sport’s best new events in just its second year. Fox Sports 1 has led the charge on this one, which is played in Bloch Arena at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in a tiny-but-character-filled bandbox that looks great on TV.

A two-day event this year, it opened Tuesday with California pulling away late to top Princeton 62-51, followed by Seton Hall fighting off stubborn Hawaii 68-57. The games are played in front of an audience consisting primarily of service men and women, and this is the rare new neutral court event in this sport that goes deeper than being a blatant entrepreneurial venture.

At a time when there are fewer and fewer living survivors from World War II and widespread war becomes a more and more distant idea to the younger, anything reminding us of such an important day in this country’s history and the sacrifice so many have made for it deserves applause. Over 60 million around the world were killed in World War II, including better than 400,000 Americans, and they should never be forgotten.

The Jimmy V Classic has long been a made-for-TV event with a cause, remembering the legacy of legendary former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, who passed away from cancer in 1993, and also raising money and awareness in the ongoing fight against the disease. The event long has been backed by ESPN, Dick Vitale and many college basketball coaches, and the yearly airing of Jimmy V’s ESPY speech is still one of the best moments of TV in any year.

This year’s games featured a drubbing, with Purdue hammering Arizona State 97-64, and a challenge as Duke held off Florida 81-71. Again, though, these games were played at Madison Square Garden, the mecca of neutral court doubleheaders in the sport for 80 years.

The other event in the evening didn’t receive much notice, but the creativity behind it takes a backseat to no one. San Francisco-a one-time power in college basketball that was still a national player until dropping the sport briefly in the 1980s in the aftermath of scandal-returned to Kezar Pavilion for the first time since 1958, playing at the place that housed the Dons during their 1955 and 1956 NCAA title runs.

Kezar Pavilion was built in 1924 and similar to Bloch Arena in Hawaii is a classic old-school basketball facility, right down to the beams running from ceiling to floor in front of the grandstands. USF even wore throwback uniforms with short(er) shorts. The game was a stroke of genius, a brilliant idea for one of the more history-rich programs in the sport, and the Dons defeated NCAA Division II San Francisco State 91-59 to move to 7-1 this year, the team’s best start since 1999-2000.

Side Dishes:

Besides those events, the big story of the night was Florida Atlantic’s shining moment, as the Owls won at Ohio State 79-77 in overtime. Nick Rutherford hit a runner off the glass with one second left in the extra period for the winning points for a huge win in Michael Curry’s building program there. A great win for FAU and a loss that could haunt the Buckeyes for a while.

Big 5 games rarely disappoint, and Villanova’s first game ranked No. 1 was an entertaining one as La Salle pushed the Wildcats before falling 89-79 at the Palestra.

We challenge anyone to find a home and home series anywhere in the nation this season that has two better finishes than Belmont and Lipscomb did this year in their Battle of the Boulevard. The Bruins won 78-76 in overtime last night as Taylor Barnette hit a pair of three-pointers, including the winner with five seconds remaining, to rally his team from a four-point deficit in the final minute. Belmont also won the first meeting a week earlier when Evan Bradds threw a 90-foot pass to Dylan Windler for the winning layup just before the buzzer, just after Lipscomb had tied the game with two seconds left.

Notre Dame is now 8-0 after an 87-72 win over Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. Bonzie Colson now has six straight double-doubles (17 points and 14 rebounds in this one).

Rhode Island shut down Old Dominion 51-39 for a solid win at home in a game where both teams struggled to score against good defenses.

On the other side of that were Central Michigan and Wisconsin-Green Bay, with the Chippewas outlasting the Phoenix 107-97 as Marcus Keene (40) and Braylon Rayson (30) combined for 70 points. Another wild one saw Tennessee-Chattanooga come back to defeat former Southern Conference rival Marshall 96-85, with Tre’ McLean scoring a career-best 35 points.

Michigan edged Texas 53-50 in another of those low-scoring games that we’re starting to see more and more of again. Expect the ridiculous cries for a shorter shot clock yet to get louder from TV heads soon. Also in the Big Ten, Minnesota moved to 8-1 with a narrow 74-68 win over NJIT, which continues to play Big Ten teams tough.

Marquette blew out to a big lead on Fresno State but then had to hold on for an 84-81 win.

Finally, Navy came back from 25 points down at halftime-25-to defeat Bryant 76-74. It’s being reported as the second-biggest halftime deficit overcome in NCAA Division I hoops history, surpassed only by Duke (of course) rallying from 29 down back in 1950 to defeat Tulane.

The first in-season coaching change has taken place, as Ray Giacoletti has resigned at Drake following a 1-7 start to the season, his fourth with the Bulldogs. Giacoletti posted a 32-69 record at the Des Moines school, and he will be replaced for the rest of the season by assistant coach Jeff Rutter. For those who have followed Drake this year, this comes as only a mild surprise. The Bulldogs have lost six games by single digits, the last two in excruciating fashion (losing a 15-point second-half lead at DePaul, then falling to Fresno State by two in overtime after rallying from 20 down). Unquestionably it’s been the type of season already that could wear on a coach, especially one struggling to make headway on a turnaround.

Tonight’s Menu:

Valparaiso faces a tall task, but the Crusaders have a chance to make a good impression if they can at least stay close at Kentucky. The Wildcats will unquestionably be motivated after losing at home to UCLA on Sunday.

After being flogged by Illinois, VCU must respond tonight when it hosts Georgia Tech (7 p.m. Eastern, ESPNU).

Butler has a tricky road game, while Indiana State has a golden opportunity for the MVC when it hosts the Bulldogs.

The Pearl Harbor Invitational’s only slight imperfection is that it is not an actual tournament and has predetermined second day matchups. As it is, California and Seton Hall (7 p.m., FS1) will play a de facto championship game tonight even as they were guaranteed to play tonight even before winning yesterday, while Hawaii and Princeton also will meet (9:30 p.m., FS1).

Air Force is at Army, and it’s fitting that two service academies are playing on the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

It’s time to start paying attention to TCU, and the Horned Frogs really will be buzzing if they can win at SMU (8 p.m., ESPNews).

Creighton is at Nebraska. The Bluejays have dominated this series for going on 20 years now. Another state rivalry game has North Dakota at North Dakota State.

Xavier continues its grueling non-conference slate with a trip to Colorado.

The Battle of the Palouse resumes for the 272nd time with Idaho making the eight-mile trip to Washington State. The Vandals have won the last two meetings.

Finally, the night wraps up with some zing with Markelle Fultz and Washington on the road at former Husky Nigel Williams-Goss and everyone else at Gonzaga (11 p.m., ESPN2).

Have a terrific Wednesday.

]]>http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/07/the-morning-dish-wednesday-december-7-2016/feed/01000035369Scanning the Nation Notebook – Dec. 6, 2016http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/06/scanning-the-nation-notebook-dec-6-2016/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/06/scanning-the-nation-notebook-dec-6-2016/#respondTue, 06 Dec 2016 20:16:53 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035362–Temple will still have ups and downs this season because of how young the Owls are. But the talent Fran Dunphy has is sure going to be fun to watch. Obi Enechionyia is playing with supreme confidence right now, a 6-foot-8 matchup nightmare who is on fire from three, and freshmen Quinton Rose and Alani Moore are playing major minutes and are fun to watch. Josh Brown also has returned from an Achilles injury faster than many expected and provides veteran leadership. Temple’s players also are moving themselves and moving the ball more this year than in recent years. The Owls’ wins over Florida State and West Virginia were no flukes.

-It seems almost every season there’s that Pac-12 team off to a great start that we’d recommend one to still pause before jumping on the bandwagon. That’s where we’re at with USC right now. The Trojans have what appears to be a very good win at Texas A&M, solid home wins against SMU and BYU…and not much else yet. Elijah Stewart is playing well, Chimezie Metu is a much-improved foul shooter (from 51.3% to 78.8%) and De’Anthony Melton has been a quality freshman, but will USC keep holding teams to 38.9% shooting the rest of the season? The eye test says no, not when the competition gets tougher, but we’ll see.

-It doesn’t take long watching Virginia Tech to see that the Hokies are a team being formed in the image of their coach. Buzz Williams’s teams at Marquette were regularly tough and physical but also better than the sum of their parts and made of players who got better. Zach LeDay plays like an enforcer.

-As we’re now nearly a month into the season, we’re starting to see a number of teams that were on the preseason sleeper lists steady themselves after perhaps slow starts. Middle Tennessee State is now 8-1, while UNC Wilmington is 7-1 with its only loss to the Blue Raiders. Valparaiso also is 7-1 even after a convincing loss at Oregon, and the Crusaders get a chance to make an impression if they can at least stay close this week at Kentucky. The lesson: don’t forget about these teams just because of early missteps.

–Loyola (Ill.) is now a surprising 7-2 after an eye-opening win against San Diego State. That came just a week after the Ramblers pushed North Carolina State for 40 minutes on the road before losing to the Wolfpack by two. Newcomer Aundre Jackson is easily one of the biggest impact players in the Missouri Valley and he and another newcomer (Clayton Custer) have helped dramatically improve the team’s shooting percentage after last year’s squad struggled so much to score. Porter Moser’s team is suddenly one to watch in the Valley.

-Also in regards to the MVC, the league is doing better than expected in this year’s challenge event with the Mountain West, leading it 5-4 pending the final game later this month between Southern Illinois and UNLV. And that was with poor Drake losing by single digits for the sixth time this year in a 78-76 loss in overtime to Fresno State.

-One more MVC note: Indiana State’s win over Utah State-which came when Brenton Scott lost control of the ball in traffic but it went right to T.J. Bell for the winning layup just before the buzzer-might be called fair after the way the Sycamores suffered their first four losses this year. ISU is 4-4 now but its four losses are by a combined 10 points, with none by more than a single possession. The Sycamores very nearly defeated Iowa State and Stanford in the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, yet came out of that event with a 0-3 record after also losing to Quinnipiac by three points. Like Loyola, Indiana State looks like an improved team in the Missouri Valley.

–New Orleans quietly had one of the best weeks it has had in a long time. The Privateers defeated city rival Tulane earlier in the week, and then on Saturday easily handled Washington State on the road for a win over a Pac-12 team. A team that returned all five starters from a year ago, UNO got off to a slow start that included a 45-point blowout loss at Oklahoma State, but the Privateers should challenge for a first-division finish in the Southland.

-On Washington State and some of its conference kin, though, it must be said: the bottom of the Pac-12 is not good. Wazzu had home losses to San Jose State and New Orleans in a span of seven days, and the Cougars looked so bad in both that it was almost surprising that they beat Utah Valley in between those two games. Oregon State (3-6 record) also is struggling mightily, in part due to injuries, and Arizona State is really thin and could have a rough December with a tough schedule coming up. The conference’s overall power rating is certainly going to take a hit if these teams continue to struggle, which will be good news or bad news for teams-good news if they can win games against them to gain separation, but bad news if they take losses to any of the three.

-You get chances against big names, you better take advantage of them. UAB has now lost to Auburn two years in a row, including a 74-70 loss at home Saturday. Maybe the Tigers really are vastly improved (though a 25-point loss at Purdue did little to suggest that), but regardless, a team like UAB, if it wants to be a top 40ish program, must beat an SEC middle-to-bottom team like this one. The Blazers have really struggled without point guard Nick Norton, who was lost for the season with an ACL injury in their opener.

-Keep watching that Minnesota team. The Golden Gophers are now 7-1 after a win over Vanderbilt, and only a loss at Florida State keeps them from a perfect record so far. Minnesota is building a non-conference performance that will put it in perfect position to challenge for an NCAA bid if they can just hold serve against the bottom of the Big Ten, beat some teams around the middle and pick off a biggie or two at home.

–UC Santa Barbara got off to a 0-5 start before defeating Division II Sonoma State for its first win, a record that does not look good on the surface, but there is hope for the Gauchos. UCSB played USC tougher than the final score showed; the Trojans ran up the margin some in the final few minutes for a 96-72 win last week that was much closer than the final indicated. The Gauchos have an Alan Williams-play-alike in low-post load Jalen Canty, and there may not be a more fearless freshman in the country than guard Max Heidegger, who should also continue to learn when discretion is the better part of valor. UCSB does need to get smooth scorer Gabe Vincent on track (32.9% shooting through five games, but it should be fine in the Big West, which is off to a collectively very bad start (18-44 record through Monday).

-Poor Oral Roberts is off to a 1-7 start against a rugged schedule, with its lone win against NAIA member Rogers State (Okla.) but losses in overtime against Mississippi, by four at Michigan State and by a respectable 15 in the opener at Baylor. ORU showed in the Ole Miss and Michigan State games that it is not far at all from being a pretty good team, one that could contend for the top half of the Summit Leauge, which is again off to a strong start.

-Reading some quoting numbers to claim early RPI numbers prove how it’s flawed just illustrates yet again how the griping about a simple ratings formula because it isn’t like some’s preferred other formulas borders on a vendetta at times. Haven’t we all learned by now that the RPI is not meant as a predictive formula, and that the numbers from it don’t really come into clarity until late January at the earliest? Good grief. The NCAA selects teams for the tourney in March, not in December. No need whatsoever to stress about the RPI right now, in fact if it bothers one so much they’d be best not looking at it at all for a while, because even those who have an ambivalent or better relationship with it probably aren’t looking at it much now, either.

-Saturday finally provided us a solid schedule of games to watch, but ESPN’s televising of Duke’s game against Maine was an embarrassment when it comes to TV’s role in promoting the sport. If choosing to show that game doesn’t illustrate the network’s flat-out nepotism when it comes to coverage of the Blue Devils, nothing will. There were 100 games across the country that would’ve made for better TV viewing than the Dukies with an obvious guarantee game. Again: as long as this is how networks choose to market the sport, and the conferences are OK with it and keep submitting to it, those in charge of the sport really lose their right to complain about what they perceive to be a lack of interest in it.

-Players don’t really have time to dwell on this and shouldn’t during the season, but when seeing George Washington not even close in a listless, close-to-home 67-48 loss to Florida State, one can speculate from the outside all they want: it’s hard not to wonder how GW’s season might’ve turned out differently if not for Mike Lonergan’s firing in mid-September. Unless it was a situation of physical abuse, it’s hard not to see how a severe reprimand in the short term and a possible parting of ways after a season (if the school really felt the need for a change) wouldn’t have been a better option than what GW’s team was put through this season. In fairness to the team now, injuries to Yuta Watanabe and Patrick Steeves are part of the problem, but the Colonials still don’t look like near the team many would’ve expected coming off the high of an NIT title last year.

–Boston University was incredibly close to a major splash week, losing by two at Connecticut on Wednesday and then by four on Saturday at N.C. State. The Terriers are going to be a tough out in the Patriot League.

-Was that score on Sunday correct? Niagara won at Iona 74-58? What a nice win for the Purple Eagles, finally a little good news for a program that has had too much bad news the last couple years.

]]>http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/06/scanning-the-nation-notebook-dec-6-2016/feed/01000035362The Morning Dish – Tuesday, December 6, 2016http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/06/the-morning-dish-tuesday-december-6-2016/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/06/the-morning-dish-tuesday-december-6-2016/#respondTue, 06 Dec 2016 10:50:57 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035353There was nothing like a return to comfortable surroundings against a comfortably familiar rival to get Connecticut a win that maybe can get the Huskies’ season back on track.

Desperately needing a spark in a season that early on has been defined by injuries, stunning losses and near-losses, the Huskies rallied past Syracuse for a 52-50 win Monday night. The game was played at Madison Square Garden, home to so many clashes between these two in the Big East Tournament in the past, and was the first of several big college games at the venerable arena this week.

It wasn’t Big Monday, and it was far from a work of art, but the night still reminded us just what the sport is missing when these two are not in the same conference anymore. With their games there in the past, both can make a figurative claim to MSG being their home away from home, and the atmosphere for this game made for typically great television between these two.

The contest featured a frantic finish, and on a night when young players had their share of struggles while veterans carried play, it was freshman Christian Vital providing the winning points, hitting two free throws with just over two seconds left for the Huskies. That came after Andrew White hit a 25-footer for Syracuse with nine seconds remaining to tie the game.

It was a game that featured great intensity, a whole lot of 2-3 zone defense from both teams and several buckets full of jump shots. Which isn’t to say that those shots were going in.

Connecticut shot 31.4% from the field, making just 16 of 51 field goal tries, and that was the better mark of the two teams. Syracuse shot an unsightly 25.9% (14 of 54).

UConn even was bad at the free throw line (13 of 23 for 53%). The shooting all around was so poor that of all things Syracuse’s free-throw shooting-seemingly a struggle for the past 30 years-was the closest thing to a beacon of light, with the Orange making 16 of 24 from the line. Still, the discriminating fan will measure a game by more than just scoring, and underneath all the bricks was a fierce battle among rival schools.

When Connecticut needed a boost, it got one from its veterans. Rodney Purvis scored 21 points, Jalen Adams totaled 16, seven rebounds and seven assists, and big man Kenton Facey was huge off the bench with seven points and 13 rebounds, repeatedly outworking the Cuse on the glass. Amida Brimah also went on a shot-blocking binge midway through the second half as the Huskies rallied from an 11-point deficit that in this game must’ve felt like 20.

To give an idea how bad UConn needed this one: the Huskies moved to 4-4 with the win, reaching the .500 mark for the first time this season. Connecticut has a long way to go to get near the heights that were expected of it when the team received top 20 recognition before the season, but a reunion with an old rival proved to be a good start.

Side Dishes:

Think Nebraska-Omaha’s win over Iowa over the weekend didn’t get its next opponents’ attention? Iowa State drilled the Mavericks 91-47, racing out to a 36-9 lead just 12 minutes into the game and never letting up. The Cyclones hit 15 three-pointers and looked much better offensively than they did Thursday in a low-scoring home loss to Cincinnati.

Couple other dramatic finishes out west as Boise State escaped Loyola Marymount 80-79 and Portland squeaked by Texas-Rio Grande Valley 90-89 in overtime.

Tonight’s Menu:

The annual Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden has Purdue with a huge size advantage against Arizona State (7 p.m. Eastern, ESPN). That’s the undercard before Florida meets Duke in the second game (9:30 p.m., ESPN), with the Gators getting a golden opportunity for a signature win.

Another event: on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Pearl Harbor Invitational takes place in Hawaii. California meets Princeton in the first game (7 p.m., FS1) while Hawaii and Seton Hall tangle in the second (9:30 p.m., FS1).

Interesting pairing of former Southwest Conference foes when Houston is at Arkansas. Also, Marshall plays at Tennessee-Chattanooga in a matchup of former Southern Conference rivals.

How far has UNC Charlotte come, and how far do the 49ers have to go? UNCC defeated Oregon State on Saturday, and now gets a shot at Wake Forest tonight.

Tricky road game for Monmouth as the Hawks take on in-state and former conference rival Wagner.

Good game in the Northeast as bruising Old Dominion travels to take on Rhode Island.

Belmont and Lipscomb renew the Battle of the Boulevard for the second time in a week. The Bruins won the first game at the buzzer with a baseball the length of the court for a layup after the Bisons had just tied it with 2.8 seconds left.

After a nice win at Georgia, Marquette can’t afford to let down when it hosts Fresno State (7:30 p.m., CBSSN).

Texas continues its basketball schedule against football schools, traveling to Michigan (9 p.m., ESPN2) just a few days after playing Alabama.

IPFW goes to Notre Dame (9 p.m., ESPNU), as the Mastodons take a swing at another state school after having already beaten Indiana.

In a similar vein, Utah Valley-the team that defeated BYU-gets another shot at in-state glory when it goes to Utah.

Finally, one of our favorite events of the year has San Francisco State at San Francisco, with the teams playing at Kezar Pavilion, the home of USF from 1924-58 and when it was winning back-to-back national titles in the mid-50s with Bill Russell. And the Dons will be wearing throwback uniforms including short(er) shorts.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
Email: hoopvilleadam@yahoo.com

]]>http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/06/the-morning-dish-tuesday-december-6-2016/feed/01000035353The Morning Dish – Sunday, December 4, 2016http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/04/the-morning-dish-sunday-december-4-2016/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/04/the-morning-dish-sunday-december-4-2016/#respondSun, 04 Dec 2016 13:04:54 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035345We’re barely into December, but already the number of unbeaten teams this college basketball season has whittled down to less than a dozen.

The day started with 14 teams without a loss, with four of them playing each other. Despite the inevitability that those games would leave us with two less undefeateds, the results in both games might be characterized as surprises: UCLA won at Kentucky 97-92, hanging the most points on a UK team in John Calipari’s coaching tenure, and Baylor ended up finishing off Xavier with unexpected ease, with a 21-2 run late the key in a 76-61 win in a game that was even for 30 minutes.
A third unbeaten went down when Virginia was stopped at home by West Virginia. Bob Huggins and his Mountaineers scored 11 of the game’s final 13 points for a 66-57 win, a mighty impressive road victory. The fourth team to lose that entered the day without a defeat was Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, unquestionably a team that stuck out like a sore thumb on this as an obvious surprise, and one that ran into a hot-shooting team as Cal Poly hit 14 three-pointers in an 82-70 win to drop the Islanders to 5-1.

Victorious unbeatens that remained so on Saturday included Villanova, Gonzaga, Creighton, Butler, USC and TCU. The latter two might rate as the most surprising, even as both have taken advantage of comfortable schedules. USC makes it two Los Angeles teams without a loss with an 8-0 mark after a 91-84 win over BYU. Meanwhile, TCU also is 8-0 after dominating the second half to blow out a very good Arkansas State team 77-54. The Horned Frogs have gotten off to hot starts before (see: two years ago), but there’s little doubt they deserve more than passing glance right now, as the number of teams without a loss continues to dwindle.

Among the biggest individual performances Saturday: Louisville was pushed by Grand Canyon before getting the 79-70 road win, with GCU’s DeWayne Russell torturing the Cardinals for 42 points. Duke’s Luke Kennard went off for 35 points in the Blue Devils’ 94-55 destruction of Maine; and UNC Wilmington’s Devontae Cacok and Chris Flemmings both scored 34 points each in the Seahawks’ 126-113 win over NCAA Division II Pfeiffer (S.C.). Cacok-one of the most improved players in the country-also added an incredible 19 rebounds against the run-and-fun Falcons, who actually were held below their total from each of their three previous games when they scored 123, 125 and 131.

Today’s Menu:

Elon-sort of a silent member of the CAA in its first years there, a team we hear little about-is off to a good start, and given Georgetown’s adventures the past couple years against teams similar, this would seem to be a terrific opportunity for the Phoenix to pull an upset (1:30 p.m. Eastern, FS1).

That game is part of the BB&T Classic, with the second game featuring Florida State against George Washington (4 p.m., CBSSN).

In a fairly random bit of scheduling, Marquette goes to Georgia to face the Bulldogs for a non-conference game (2 p.m., ESPNU).

MAAC league play continues with several games including Canisius at Monmouth.

Davidson is at College of Charleston in a game matching offense against defense.

Georgia State nearly won at Purdue, which means the Panthers should have a shot at Mississippi State.

Have a relaxing Sunday.

Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
Email: hoopvilleadam@yahoo.com

]]>http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/04/the-morning-dish-sunday-december-4-2016/feed/01000035345Saturday Notes – December 3, 2016http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/04/saturday-notes-december-3-2016/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/04/saturday-notes-december-3-2016/#respondSun, 04 Dec 2016 13:00:11 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035347While football remained top of mind for many in college sports on a day of championship games, Saturday was a much-anticipated day on the hardwood, the first of its kind this season. And it didn’t take long to live up to that hype.

In one of the first games of the day, UCLA beat Kentucky for the second straight year. As was the case last year, what to take from that game says much more about UCLA than Kentucky, and this time around, if you’re a UCLA fan you can feel pretty good, as opposed to a year ago. We’ll have more on this later.

There were a number of other big matchups on the day, along with rivalry games and the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge. We’ll see them as we look at notes from around the nation.

UCLA 97, Kentucky 92: UCLA looked better before this game than they did last season, so this win means more. It tells you this team should be considered one of the favorites in the Pac-12 if they remain healthy, and also a candidate to make a deep run in March.

West Virginia 66, Virginia 57: This figured to be a good one, and it came down to West Virginia ending the game on an 11-2 run after the teams were tied at 55.

Baylor 76, Xavier 61: With this win in a clash of titans, the Bears have their fourth high-quality win thus far, having already topped Oregon, Michigan State and Louisville. They held Xavier to 31 percent shooting and now have outscored opponents 328-227 in the second half on the season.

Gonzaga 69, Arizona 61: After a couple of tough losses to the Wildcats the past couple of seasons, the Zags get a win over them in Los Angeles in the first game of Hoophall LA.

USC 91, Brigham Young 84: In the nightcap of the doubleheader at the Staples Center, USC improved to 8-0. The Trojans looked like a bit of a question mark when they lost a couple of key players to the NBA Draft unexpectedly, but they’re looking like they should be a big factor in the Pac-12.

Wisconsin 90, Oklahoma 70: The Sooners had their first big test of the season with their first true road game, and it didn’t end well. The Sooners actually led at halftime, but it was all Wisconsin in the second half.

Providence 63, Rhode Island 60: This was the best chance in a while for the Rams to break through against their arch-rival, but Providence pulled out a seventh straight win in the series by rallying in the second half. The Rams have yet to beat the Friars under Dan Hurley.

Villanova 88, Saint Joseph’s 57: This battle of two arch rivals wasn’t close at all, but it is noteworthy for the triple-double that Josh Hart posted of 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Creighton 82, Akron 70: As the Bluejays fend off the Zips to remain undefeated, Marcus Foster continues to be reborn in Omaha. He scored over 20 points for the third time in four outings, this time 27 points on 11-19 shooting, and even had three assists without a turnover. He’s shooting over 50 percent from the floor on the season, including 46.7 percent from long range.

Michigan State 80, Oral Roberts 76: How hard-hit have the Spartans been by injuries? They were life-and-death with a 1-7 Oral Roberts team at home, this time without Miles Bridges as well.

Maryland 71, Oklahoma State 70: It was a tale of two halves for two teams that look good thus far, but just how good remains to be seen. Maryland has, however, proven adept at pulling out close games, which certainly helps, as this is their third one-point win and sixth win by six points or less.

Illinois 64, VCU 46: Illinois needed a win like this, a convincing win over a good team. The Illini let the Rams get within one early in the second half with 11 unanswered points, but the Rams ran out of gas and it was all Illini from there.

Minnesota 56, Vanderbilt 52: Like Illinois, last season didn’t end well for Minnesota and the off-season wasn’t much better. But both got nice wins on Saturday, with Jordan Murphy’s 16 points and 14 rebounds helping the Golden Gophers improve to 7-1.

Wake Forest 75, Richmond 67: Quietly, the Demon Deacons are 6-2 and got a nice win on the road here.

Ole Miss 85, Memphis 77: A monster game by Sebastian Saiz (20 points, 16 rebounds) lifts Ole Miss in a matchup of two teams that the jury is out on.

UCF 65, UMass 62: Johnny Dawkins is off to a 6-1 start with the Golden Knights, who won this on the road.

TCU 77, Arkansas State 54: Jamie Dixon just wins games, even at TCU, now 8-0 after this win. The early returns are promising in Fort Worth.

]]>http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/04/saturday-notes-december-3-2016/feed/01000035347The Morning Dish – Saturday, December 3, 2016http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/03/the-morning-dish-saturday-december-3-2016/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/03/the-morning-dish-saturday-december-3-2016/#respondSat, 03 Dec 2016 15:10:30 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035341Over the past four years, Jim Ferry has shown how much of a challenge it is to win at Duquesne. Here’s a guy who had a great run at LIU, winning two straight Northeast Conference titles and leaving behind a team that won a third straight under his former assistant when he first arrived in Pittsburgh. He is one of a growing number of coaches who cut his teeth in Division III and worked his way up the ladder from there.

In other words, he knows how to coach. Through four years at the school, the Dukes have gradually improved all the way to a 17-17 mark last year – their first .500 season under him. While it is the school’s sixth season with at least a .500 record since 2007-08, this recent stretch has been an anomaly. Starting in 1982-83, the program had just two such seasons over the next 23 years, winning a single-digit number of games nine times and bottoming out with a 3-24 season in 2005-06. Jim Satalin, John Carroll, Scott Edgar, Darelle Porter and Danny Nee all tried their hand at leading the program in that time, and only Carroll, who had the best winning percentage at .427, got them into a postseason tournament.

You get the idea. Ferry had a tall task in front of him, even though predecessor Ron Everhart had a good six-year run that included three straight postseason tournaments and five straight winning seasons. When he took over, the program had seemingly peaked under Everhart and had seen players transferring more frequently.

With that in mind, you understand why the Dukes 64-55 win in the annual City Game against cross-town rival Pittsburgh is a big deal. It’s their first win against the Panthers since 2000, ending a 15-game losing streak, which by itself is monumental. It’s also a boost for a team most picked in the bottom half of the Atlantic 10, a conference that has done well recently, boosting the challenge at Duquesne.

Pittsburgh was without forward Jamel Artis, who was suspended for the game by Pittsburgh head coach Kevin Stallings, but the Dukes were stronger down the stretch in both halves and Stallings didn’t feel his team deserved to win. Duquesne held Pittsburgh scoreless for the final 4:31 of the first half, then closed out the cold-shooting Panthers (33.3 percent from the field) by outscoring them 11-4 after Pittsburgh got within two with 4:18 left.

Duquesne is now 4-5 on the season, and they have had a couple of tough losses in games they failed to close out the opponent. Their strong finish on Friday night is potentially a turning point, so this game could be a key in more ways than one. It could be just what they need to keep the improvement under Ferry going this season.

Side Dishes

Although it was a light slate on Friday night, Alabama traveled to Texas and came away with a 77-68 loss to the Longhorns thanks to a big second half by Texas. Alabama led 38-26 at halftime, but Texas took over in the second half to get back above .500 at 4-3. Also, early MAAC play is on tap this weekend, and in the conference openers, road teams took two out of three as Iona won at St. Peter’s, Marist beat Niagara and Canisius rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to win at Manhattan.

As if Michigan State hasn’t had a tough enough beginning to the season, the Spartans have taken another hit. Miles Bridges, who has been their best player to date, will be out for some time with an ankle injury. The freshman is on crutches as a means of resting it, as head coach Tom Izzo said the ankle has been sore, and it’s not clear when he suffered the injury. The injury doesn’t appear to be serious, and it sounds like they are playing it cautiously so he can heal – you get the feeling he would be able to play if they had an NCAA Tournament game this weekend. Michigan State is already without Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter, and it’s possible Carter won’t return this season.

Leading up to Saturday’s game against UCLA, Kentucky has seen a few players and staff members battling a cold. Every player practiced, however, so there is no expectation of players not suiting up for the game as a consequence of this. The team even went to great lengths with the program’s facilities to protect against it getting any worse.

Maine will play at Duke on Saturday, and the Black Bears will be making a political statement by wearing rainbow-themed warm-up shirts as a way to protest North Carolina’s HB 2 law. The t-shirts are black with a rainbow-colored America East logo, and the school believed doing this made more sense than canceling the trip, something fellow conference member Albany did as the Great Danes were originally slated to play Duke as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic. In Albany’s case, however, there was the added aspect of New York governor Andrew Cuomo issuing an executive order that banned all nonessential travel to the state.

Tonight’s Menu

A big day of games is ahead, both in number and in the quality of the matchups.

The headliner comes early as UCLA visits Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky at 12:30 p.m. EST.

Wisconsin hosts an Oklahoma team seeking a signature win in the early going at 1 p.m. It’s the Sooners’ first true road game of the season.

Arch rivals meet on the Main Line as Villanova hosts Saint Joseph’s (1 p.m.), and later, in Providence as Rhode Island heads north to take on Providence (4:30 p.m.)

Virginia hosts West Virginia in what should be a fun game to watch at 2 p.m.

Rice is off to a good start and gets a test at Texas Tech, who also has a 6-1 record (2 p.m.)

The Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge gets going, with Boise State at Evansville (2 p.m.), Northern Iowa at Wyoming (3 p.m.), Fresno State at Drake (3:05 p.m.), San Diego State at Loyola (Ill.), New Mexico at Illinois State (8 p.m.), Nevada at Bradley (8 p.m.), Missouri State at Air Force (9 p.m.) and Indiana State at Utah State (9 p.m.)

A doubleheader is on tap in the Hoophall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena: Illinois-VCU at 3 p.m., then Wofford takes on Miami at 5:30 p.m.

There is also Hoophall LA across the country, with a pair of West Coast Conferece-Pac-12 matchups. First, Gonzaga takes on Arizona in what will hopefully be another epic battle at 5:30 p.m., then BYU plays USC at 8 p.m.

Xavier visits Baylor for a fine battle of two undefeated teams that have each won an in-season tournament (3:30 p.m.)

DePaul visits Northwestern in a battle of local rivals (7 p.m.)

Arizona State hosts a UNLV team that has surprised some with its 5-2 start (8 p.m.)

Creighton’s undefeated mark is on the line in a tough test against visiting Akron (8 p.m.)

Oklahoma State visits Maryland in a nice matchup of two teams that have started well, but we’re still figuring out (9 p.m.)

]]>http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/03/the-morning-dish-saturday-december-3-2016/feed/01000035341The Morning Dish – Friday, December 2, 2016http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/02/the-morning-dish-friday-december-2-2016/
http://www.hoopville.com/2016/12/02/the-morning-dish-friday-december-2-2016/#respondFri, 02 Dec 2016 15:36:07 +0000http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000035331Cincinnati won the battle against Iowa State Thursday night, and then the Bearcats went ahead and won the war too.

In a game that displayed just how captivating college basketball can be when teams with vastly different styles of play collide, the Bearcats earned a decisive decision in the category of controlling tempo, and eventually toughed out a 55-54 road win at ISU’s Hilton Coliseum, one of the toughest places to play in the country. While the former became obvious fairly quickly in the early going, the latter was hardly a given at any point. Cincy trailed by four late in regulation and by three with less than two minutes left in overtime, but got the stops it needed and received two free throws from Jacob Evans with 20 seconds left.

On a night when the TV schedule for hoops was limited, this game had center stage, and these two teams were worthy. Cincinnati was ferocious on the glass (46-34 advantage) and outstanding defensively against the Cyclones’ potent offense. It was a typical performance from a program that, perhaps more than anyone not named Virginia, has built an identity on defense and toughness.

At the same time, Iowa State-though unable to get its offense cranking-also did an excellent job defensively, frustrating Troy Caupain into 2-for-11 shooting and contesting seemingly every shot and pass, and the Cyclones seemed to have this in control (albeit tenuously) any number of times. And Hilton Coliseum also again was a winning stage for the cameras, again showing it is one of the best atmospheres in person and on TV anywhere in the sport.

Some, maybe even many, will label this game as ‘ugly’ or ‘unwatchable’ because it didn’t have three-pointers raining or players driving 100 miles per hour and then throwing themselves at the rim. We’d beg to differ a thousand times over.

Indeed, the shooting percentages were poor (neither shot above 37%), especially from three-point range, where the two combined to make eight of 42 attempts. And both teams’ low offensive outputs were at least partially self-induced-ISU by its penchant for standing around, Cincinnati for its patience and lack of attack in a sport where a 30-second shot clock now mandates individuals taking things into their own hands and allows little time for working for a good shot.

The back-and-forth in this game on the surface was terrific (16 lead changes, which is particularly impressive in a game with so few points), and so was the constant tug of war between them to impose their will. The differences in how these teams like to play highlighted one of the things that makes college basketball so intriguing on a national basis, and that it wasn’t perfect does not detract from how fascinating this was.

Two different styles of play clashing is part of what sets the sport apart from the professional or international ranks; the NBA can’t remotely duplicate games like this one. Some of the most memorable-and highly rated on TV-games of the past 30+ years came when opposites came together and played games down to the wire (N.C. State/Houston in 1983, Princeton vs. Georgetown in 1989 and Arkansas in 1990).

The final score of this game couldn’t have been much more right, perfectly displaying how valuable every point and every possession was. Cincinnati won this game, Iowa State didn’t lose so much as it came up one point short. And fans who enjoy variety in this sport also won, too.

Side Dishes:

Seton Hall brushed away Columbia 95-71, with Angel Delgado dominating the paint (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Myles Powell drilling seven three-pointers for a career-high 21 points. The Lions hung in for a while, but the Pirates handled this exactly the way they should have, keeping a working margin all night and blowing it open late as frustration clearly set in for Columbia.

Despite the thin schedule, it was a night for career highs, and South Carolina’s P.J. Dozier set a new best with 21 in the Gamecocks’ 68-50 win over Vermont.

The opening night in the Metro Atlantic saw Monmouth roll at Quinnipiac 91-72 while Fairfield defeated Rider 76-67 on the road. Je’lon Hornbeak and sweet-shooting Collin Stewart both hit five three-pointers each for Monmouth, while Tyler Nelson was the star for the Stags in the latter game with a career-high 38 points. Keep an eye on Fairfield in the MAAC.

Just 10 days ago, Mississippi State was announcing that leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon was out for the rest of the season with a wrist injury. And yet, there he was last night, scoring an efficient 21 points by hitting 6 of 7 from the field and 4 of 5 from the line, as the Bulldogs handled struggling Oregon State 74-57. Seems like perhaps schools shouldn’t share such a dire prognosis until it’s a sure thing that it’s correct, but obviously Weatherspoon’s return is huge for MSU.

Also in the ACC, Florida rolled at North Florida 91-60 while Arkansas topped Stephen F. Austin 78-62. The Gators shot 58.5%-as if they were playing at home, per UNF coach Matthew Driscoll.

Michigan State has had a start to the season that can be labeled as challenging in more than just its schedule, and it got worse on Thursday as it was revealed that star freshman Miles Bridges will be out “at least a couple of weeks.” Obviously, as the Mississippi State situation shows, it’s become harder and harder to take these estimations seriously in recent years, but if he is out that long it comes at probably the best time for the Spartans, in a relatively soft spot in the schedule and before Big Ten play starts. What it might do is delay the gelling process for this team. Also from the Detroit Free Press story, the returns of big men Ben Carter and Gavin Schilling are also nowhere near returning for MSU and may not play at all this year.

Today’s Menu:

It’s a very thin slate, but at least includes some afternoon hoops if you’re stuck at the computer. The Citadel is hosting the Holy City Hoops Classic, one of those exempted tournaments that is not really a tournament and thus shouldn’t really be exempted, either, but the NCAA has yet to figure that out. Anyway, the event starts with a doubleheader of Colgate at The Citadel at 2 p.m. Eastern, with Campbell facing South Carolina Upstate after.

Alabama goes to Texas (9:30 p.m., ESPNU) in a good game that probably looked even more appealing before the season, but still is important for both teams to try to gain some momentum. The Longhorns in particular need to turn it around.

Duquesne and Pittsburgh renew their City Game rivalry. The Panthers have won 15 straight over the Dukes, many of them recently by convincing scores, and Pitt will be a heavy favorite again.

The first round of MAAC games continues with three more games. The best game has Iona, fresh off its Great Alaska Shootout title, on the road at the St. Peter’s Peacocks.

Delaware State is at Delaware in another state rivalry, and the visiting Hornets carry some serious momentum after knocking off St. John’s this week.

Cal State Bakersfield is at SMU, a better game than many might think, and even moreso if the Mustangs struggle like they have been of late.

The other national TV game is St. John’s at Tulane (8 p.m., ESPNews).

Finally, Lamar plays at San Francisco in a game featuring two teams probably off to better starts than expected (the Cardinals are 4-2, while the Dons are 5-1).